Exciting leads for Post Falls Historical Society
DEVIN WEEKS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 6 months AGO
Devin Weeks is a third-generation North Idaho resident. She holds an associate degree in journalism from North Idaho College and a bachelor's in communication arts from Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene. Devin embarked on her journalism career at the Coeur d'Alene Press in 2013. She worked weekends for several years, covering a wide variety of events and issues throughout Kootenai County. Devin now mainly covers K-12 education and the city of Post Falls. She enjoys delivering daily chuckles through the Ghastly Groaner and loves highlighting local people in the Fast Five segment that runs in CoeurVoice. Devin lives in Post Falls with her husband and their three eccentric and very needy cats. | October 21, 2022 1:06 AM
Ask and you shall receive.
The Post Falls Historical Society has received numerous calls and visits since the "Connecting threads of history" article ran Sunday in The Press. In the story, the Post Falls Museum's mystery mural was mentioned and grabbed the attention of readers who have some information on the subject.
"We now have a solid lead on the mural, who and when it was painted and a documented source," Post Falls Historical Society President Kim Brown told The Press. "We have had a very busy week."
Brown said the historical society was missing the 1959 Post Falls yearbook, in which a student painting project that took place during the fall in 1958 is chronicled.
"A fellow who graduated 1959, the senior class president, he remembers going in and painting the walls, and the Kiwanis Club provided the paint. The kids went in and painted the walls and cleaned the place up," Brown said. "It’s in the 1959 yearbook, which we didn't have a copy of."
The building's founder, Walter Chapin, donated the space for the dance hall the students called "The Hut" when PFHS burned down. The Kiwanis Club donated the paint.
"Now we have pictures of the kids, and this guy remembers the activity," Brown said.
It is still unknown who painted the mural, which clearly has Post Falls' orange and black school colors. However, the man who formerly ran the laundromat there was an artist, and theories are bubbling that he painted it especially for the students.
Brown said the 1959 graduate said it wasn't done by the students, so it remains a mystery — for now. She has meetings set with others who can shine light on the subject while contributing other fascinating stories to the collective memory of Post Falls.
"This thing has mushroomed into all these little leads," Brown said. "The newspaper absolutely took us to a different level. When they say people don't read the paper, yeah they do."
Email Brown at pfhistorical@roadrunner.com to submit Chapin Building memories, stories and artifacts.
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